The present invention relates generally to concrete power trowel (finishing machine control devices and more particularly to an adjustable attachment which, when fixed to the control arm of a concrete power trowel, permits its operator to move and control the trowel from various distances outside the perimeter of the poured concrete.
In both residential and commercial property development, it is common for the developer to have large areas covered with concrete simultaneously in order to obtain a seamless surface and to provude a strong, uniform foundation on which to build. After the concrete has been poured, it is customary to rough trowel it in order to produce an initially smooth surface. As the concrete "sets up" or hardens, it becomes necessary to trowel the surface more carefully in order to produce the uniformly smooth, seamless surface generally seen in finished concrete surfaces.
The final trowelling of concrete surfaces, when a large area has been poured, is generally accomplished by means of a power trowel. This is usually a gasoline driven machine which rotates one or more trowels over the concrete to be smoothed. Movement of the power trowel is controlled by an operating arm, approximately four feet in length, which extends from the base of the machine at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. The arm generally has opposed handles at its proximal end which are held by an operator during use and which are utilized to maneuver the power trowel over the concrete being finished.
A serious deficiency presented by conventional use of the above described power trowel is the necessity for its operator to walk in close relation to it. In use, this requirement results in the production of the operator's footprints in the concrete. Because of this problem, the power trowel is generally operated so as to be pulled by the operator over the operator's own footprints. In fact, a significant amount of any power trowelling operation is involved in the attempt to smooth over the footprints of the power trowel operator. The present invention, because it enables the operator to perform the trowelling operation from beyond the perimeter of the poured concrete, produces a flatter surface because of the elimination of footprints.
In addition to the problem of footprints produced during conventional power trowel operations, an important economic consideration is also involved. Because of the fact that the operator must walk across the concrete in the process of power trowelling, it is necessary for the operator to delay commencement of power trowelling until some time after the concrete has been poured. The time thus lost contributes significantly to construction costs.
Although the above described deficiencies have been well recognized in the prior art, no invention has been found in the prior art which can enable the power trowel operator to operate and control a power trowel at a distance from the trowel and from a point of vantage removed from the surface of the newly poured concrete. Thus, there is a substantial need in the art for a reliable, low-cost device and method which permit operation of a concrete power trowel by an operator who is not standing on the concrete being trowelled and who can control the power trowel from a distance.